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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Papa's Hands

I met Laura at Papa's barn on Friday. She had a couple of projects to finish. I had no idea what I would work on. I just love going. It's very inspiring and believe me, when I left, I had lots of plans for the next time! My husband grew up in and around the barn. It's a place where he earned money helping Papa with refinishing, painting, restoring and creating furniture. I was completely enthralled when Papa came to the barn to see what we were up to! I was following him around and listening intently. His first priority is safety and wants our undivided attention when showing us how to use the tools.

When he was almost finished, I realized there were lots of missed moments behind the camera. We were talking about making some frames and he wanted to find a box of glass he had on a high shelf. In the meantime, I picked up a scrap from one of his pepper mills, (more on that later), and asked what he would do with it. We talked about making a bowl for rings. He grabbed the piece of spalding wood. Definition: Spalding is when the wood is rotting. It's caused by insect's excrement that gets into the wood and creates amazing patterns. The piece I handed him was a little far gone. He put it up on the lathe and started turning and it was crumbling a little. He showed us how to use different tools and different angles to get the shape you want. I was in complete awe.

One of the things I enjoyed most was how much he loves everything in the barn! He has it set up in a very organized way, but you will find a treasure hidden in every corner! We were talking about different kinds of wood and as we were finishing, he pulled out this block of wood and asked us how old we thought it was. Laura and I just looked at each other. That's when he pointed out the rings. This piece was no where near the center of that old tree. We couldn't even guess! He knows every type of wood and where he got each piece. I have a feeling I can find him a few pieces to play with!

A few of his tools. His last name is Hall, as is my son, John Connor's middle name....named after his great-grandfather.

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This sums it up..

Felix Gonzalez-Torres : Above all else, it is about leaving a mark that I existed: I was here. I was hungry. I was defeated. I was happy. I was sad. I was in love. I was afraid. I was hopeful. I had an idea and I had a good purpose and that's why I made works of art.